Published: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 12, 2013 at 9:40 p.m.

WILMINGTON | It's a good thing Elissa Edwards knows how to pirouette. That's when a ballet dancer whirls on tiptoe, but it might also describe how the rest of Edwards' summer will go.

Facts

Want to see?

Watch the dance performance that Elissa Edwards submitted to the ACE Awards: http://dancemedia.com/v/8226

She was already gearing up to produce an ambitious dance show at Thalian Hall on Sept. 13-14 when she found out she was one of 16 choreographers invited to compete in the Capezio ACE Award Competition in New York City. The finals are Aug. 6.

She's confident she can handle it.

“I do better when I'm stressed,” she said. “If I get an idea in my head, I'll just convince myself I can do it.”

Edwards and her partner, Lindsey Bryant, co-own Impulse Dance Project, a dance studio that works with students who aspire to a career in dance.

Edwards almost didn't enter a video this year.

“I'd forgotten about the ACE Awards,” she said. But she had a video she liked from a recent competition.

When she told Bryant she'd earned a trip to New York, they discussed putting off the Thalian Hall show.

Bryant said she should do both.

“We were trying to raise money for that show, and now we're raising money for New York,” Edwards said.

The intricate and emotional dance piece is called “28,” performed to Opus 28, a piano composition by Dustin O'Halloran.

It's not an easy piece to perform.

“There's a lot of partner work in my piece – multiple partner work, not just two people,” she said.

It's about “how we struggle to depend on ourselves but we need other people,” she said. She said the choreography reflects her own internal struggles.

Edwards, 30, moved around as a child. Her father, a Marine, was once stationed at Camp Lejeune, and her mother still lives in Jacksonville.

She attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and began teaching in studios more than a decade ago.

She and Bryant started Impulse Dance Project in 2010. It's a dance company for serious students. Many have been there since the beginning.

Edwards often travels in the United States and Canada choreographing and teaching master classes for other studios and companies during the summer.

Those opportunities help finance Dance Impulse Project. But this year, preparing for the two performances have forced her to turn down some lucrative invitations.

Edwards is assembling a dance company called The 28 Movement for a show called “And in our willingness,” which will have three performances at Thalian Hall in September.

“I've wanted to do a full-length show of my work for a few years now,” she said. “You can only do so much with a three-minute piece you do for a competition.”

Her goal is for the 28 Movement to be a professional company performing twice yearly in Wilmington and perhaps elsewhere. It would be something dancers could put on their resumes, “a transition before they move to New York,” Edwards said.

The 28 Movement will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, and at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Thalian. A VIP Gala will follow the Saturday evening performance with hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar and a silent auction.

Edwards will certainly be busy between now and mid-September.

She's looking for sponsors for the Thalian show and donations to help with that and the New York trip.

For more information, call at 273-8571 or email idpdance@live.com.

Column idea? Contact Si Cantwell at 343-2364 or Si.Cantwell@StarNewsOnline.com, or follow him on Twitter.com: @SiCantwell.

<p>WILMINGTON | It's a good thing Elissa Edwards knows how to pirouette. That's when a ballet dancer whirls on tiptoe, but it might also describe how the rest of Edwards' summer will go.</p><p>She was already gearing up to produce an ambitious dance show at <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9941"><b>Thalian Hall</b></a> on Sept. 13-14 when she found out she was one of 16 choreographers invited to compete in the Capezio ACE Award Competition in New York City. The finals are Aug. 6.</p><p>She's confident she can handle it.</p><p>“I do better when I'm stressed,” she said. “If I get an idea in my head, I'll just convince myself I can do it.”</p><p>Edwards and her partner, Lindsey Bryant, co-own Impulse Dance Project, a dance studio that works with students who aspire to a career in dance.</p><p>Edwards almost didn't enter a video this year.</p><p>“I'd forgotten about the ACE Awards,” she said. But she had a video she liked from a recent competition.</p><p>“The videography was good, so I said, 'I guess I'll submit that,' ” she said.</p><p>It was a good choice.</p><p>When she told Bryant she'd earned a trip to New York, they discussed putting off the Thalian Hall show.</p><p>Bryant said she should do both.</p><p>“We were trying to raise money for that show, and now we're raising money for New York,” Edwards said.</p><p>The intricate and emotional dance piece is called “28,” performed to Opus 28, a piano composition by Dustin O'Halloran.</p><p>It's not an easy piece to perform.</p><p>“There's a lot of partner work in my piece – multiple partner work, not just two people,” she said.</p><p>It's about “how we struggle to depend on ourselves but we need other people,” she said. She said the choreography reflects her own internal struggles.</p><p>Edwards, 30, moved around as a child. Her father, a Marine, was once stationed at Camp Lejeune, and her mother still lives in Jacksonville.</p><p>She attended the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and began teaching in studios more than a decade ago.</p><p>She and Bryant started Impulse Dance Project in 2010. It's a dance company for serious students. Many have been there since the beginning.</p><p>Edwards often travels in the United States and Canada choreographing and teaching master classes for other studios and companies during the summer.</p><p>Those opportunities help finance Dance Impulse Project. But this year, preparing for the two performances have forced her to turn down some lucrative invitations.</p><p>Edwards is assembling a dance company called The 28 Movement for a show called “And in our willingness,” which will have three performances at Thalian Hall in September.</p><p>“I've wanted to do a full-length show of my work for a few years now,” she said. “You can only do so much with a three-minute piece you do for a competition.”</p><p>Her goal is for the 28 Movement to be a professional company performing twice yearly in Wilmington and perhaps elsewhere. It would be something dancers could put on their resumes, “a transition before they move to New York,” Edwards said.</p><p>The 28 Movement will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, and at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Thalian. A VIP Gala will follow the Saturday evening performance with hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar and a silent auction.</p><p>Edwards will certainly be busy between now and mid-September.</p><p>She's looking for sponsors for the Thalian show and donations to help with that and the New York trip.</p><p>For more information, call at 273-8571 or email idpdance@live.com.</p><p><i></p><p>Column idea? Contact <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic22"><b>Si Cantwell</b></a> at 343-2364 or Si.Cantwell@StarNewsOnline.com, or follow him on <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>.com: @SiCantwell.</i></p>